Alex Bregman's Cubs turnaround deserves Silver Slugger recognition but Dodgers may spoil it

When you field one of the best, most consistent offenses in baseball, you're bound to have a lot of great individual performers. The Chicago Cubs certainly belong in that boat, and you can be sure that a number of their players will be competing for a Silver Slugger Award down the stretch.

Pete Crow-Armstrong, in the midst of the NL MVP race, is a lock to win one of the three outfield trophies. On thet heels of Saturdays' three-homer performance, he led all Senior Circuit outfielders in wRC+ (158), home runs (36) and stolen bases (32). Seiya Suzuki is also making a stellar case for one of those awards, considering he ranks third in wRC+ (139) and OPS (.862) among that same group.

There's probably no one else on the roster who should be considered a favorite to win a Silver Slugger at their respective position, though there are a few players who could be finalist candidates. That includes Alex Bregman, whose scorching hot second half has started to erase the painful memories of his slow start in a Cubs uniform.

Alex Bregman is blitzing up Silver Slugger leaderboard in weak third base field

At first glance, Bregman's numbers don't really stand out from the crowd. His .766 OPS and 115 wRC+ are solid, but far from spectacular. It also doesn't help that he's got meager power numbers on his ledger, including 20 home runs and a .422 slugging percentage.

However, there are two factors massively working in his favor for Silver Slugger consideration. One is his aforementioned post-All-Star-break hot streak. In that span, he's hit a robust .289/.363/.566 with a 155 wRC+, with more home runs (11) than he had in all of the first half.

He's also assuredly making an impression on voters by delivering repeatedly in clutch moments for a team deeply nestled into the playoff race.

The other element working in his favor is that the third base picture in the NL isn't as crowded as it looks. Sal Stewart has been tremendous in 2026, but he's primarily played first base and will, at best, qualify for the utility position in Silver Slugger voting. Ditto for old friend Willi Castro, who has spent most of his time at second and has a Coors Field inflated .757 OPS.

That leaves Nick Gonzales (113 wRC+) and Nolan Arenado (.743 OPS) as Bregman's primary competition for a finalist spot. All three players have been great this year, but I wager that finishing out the season as strong as Bregman is will work toward his favor.

Unfortunately, the reason I keep mentioning the word "finalist" is because there's no real chance anyone I've already brought up wins this award. Max Muncy is delivering yet another tremendous effort in his age-36 season, leading all NL third baseman in nearly every offensive category, including home runs, OPS, and wRC+. He's the prohibitive favorite, with an ironclad grip on his first Silver Slugger trophy.

Still, even if Bregman's season doesn't end with him holding any personal hardware, his redemption arc deserves to be celebrated... espcially if it leads the Cubs to some hardware of their own in the playoffs.

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